Back to Resources

Research Report 424 Design moisture condition guidelines for pavement design and material assessment

Published: | Category: Activity management , Research programme , Research & reports | Audience: General

A pavement design model developed in the USA is used to estimate the equilibrium degree of saturation in pavement subgrade and basecourse materials.

The model is applicable to all the mainland US states, including areas with similar climatic conditions to New Zealand.

The research on which this report is based, which was carried out in 2008/09, indicates that the US-based model is appropriate to New Zealand conditions, where typical equilibrium moisture conditions are in the range of 50–60% for granular basecourse and typically greater than 85% for fine-grained subgrade soils.

Keywords: chipseal, moisture, New Zealand, pavement failure, potholes, rutting, waterproofingKeywords: chipseal, moisture, New Zealand, pavement failure, potholes, rutting, waterproofing

Publication details

  • Author:
  • Published: October 2010
  • Reference: 424
  • ISBN/ISSN: ISBN 978-0-478-37121-5 (electronic)